Rising Waters
by pcworth
Summary: This is my day 1 story for SQ Week for the prompt bed sharing. When flood waters rise it Storybrooke, will it bring something else to the surface as tight quarters keep Regina and Emma close.


Emma was tired – exhausted would probably be a better word for it she thought as she stood there overseeing more sandbags being put down. She had been right there in the thick of it, stacking them with the others, but she needed this short break.

After record snowfall this winter, they had now been hit by two back-to-back storms in Maine. Between the runoff from the snow melting and the rains, Storybrooke like much of the state was under a state of emergency as the flood waters continued to rise.

Already part of the town had been evacuated and an emergency shelter had been set up at the middle school.

The rain was continuing to fall though and despite their plans Emma wasn't sure the whole town wouldn't soon be under water. Raising her head to the cloudy sky she allowed the drops of water to hit her face while she searched for any break in the clouds. Sighing she got back in line to bolster their defenses.

Regina was dead on her feet, but she knew she didn't have time for even a short rest. She had been out at the middle school checking on the shelter and making sure that they had all the supplies they needed. They were running out of cots and it wasn't as if she could call the Red Cross in for some more.

She began to ask residents who lived up in the upper part of town to begin opening their homes to friends and relatives if they could in order to alleviate the bedding problem. She asked Snow to help coordinate and keep a running list of who was staying where so they could keep track of their citizenry.

Snow had asked her about her own home, which was in the upper neighborhood, and Regina barely gave her a glance as she told her to do what she needed to do to keep people under shelter before leaving to check on the next thing on her list.

This is a losing battle Emma thought as she passed the next sandbag to one of the dwarves – she wasn't even sure who it was at this point – who stood next to her in line. There was no way they would get this done in time she thought as she saw the water approach. The rain was coming down even harder now and there was a small puddle at her feet. She didn't even notice Regina until the woman was standing right there at the wall of sandbags looking out at the same advancing water the rest of them had been keeping their eyes on. She turned and approached Emma, a clear question written on the features of her face.

"We had to move back," Emma said answering before Regina could ask. "The lower portion, there was just too much water."

Regina nodded, looking back at the water and then at the truck of sandbags.

"It's rising too quickly," Regina said, seeing what she was sure Emma had also seen – they would not get this wall of sandbags in place in time. "Maybe if we could get more volunteers out here."

"I don't think we could get them here in time, besides it's not like everyone else isn't busy doing their part," Emma replied as the continued to pass sandbags. She was on auto pilot at this point.

She could see the worry on Regina's face even as she said it.

"Oh shit!" they heard someone say and both women turned to see even more water headed toward them. It would overrun their wall.

She turned again toward Regina, who was now moving around the bags to stand in front of them.

"What are you doing?" she yelled.

The water would be there any moment and she was about to drag Regina's ass back over the wall when she saw the woman raise her arms in front of her. As the water flowed even quicker toward them it hit an invisible barrier. Magic, Emma thought, she is using her magic to hold back the waters. But how long could she keep that up?

Without looking back Regina yelled, "Keep building."

"You heard her," Emma said to the others.

Over the course of the next hour they moved without stopping, except for Emma who had to cross the wall to get Regina's cell phone which kept ringing. People kept calling her with questions or updates, which Emma now had to answer. She felt bad every time she had to ask Regina a question that she couldn't answer because she could tell the woman was trying to keep all her concentration on her magic.

As the wall got higher Emma yelled to her to back up to get behind the wall, which Emma wasn't sure she could do without dropping the magic. Neither was Regina.

"Keep building, it needs to be higher," she yelled back with less authority in her voice. "I can teleport back when needed. Just get it higher or the whole town could be lost."

She knew Regina wasn't incorrect. That is why the majority of volunteers were here. This was their point of defense for keeping the rest of the town safe.

Another truck of bags arrived – volunteers at the middle school had been busy filling them – and they worked to get those down too. The bags were stacked more like a pyramid than an actual wall so that the base was wide enough to keep the whole structure secure. At this point it was high enough that Emma couldn't see Regina at all from where she was at. She kept asking the dwarf – who she still didn't know – if Regina was ok as he was at the top of the line now stacking.

Emma checked in with the other parts of the wall being built on the other sides of the buildings where she was at. The wall was five feet tall by the time the last bag was placed. She told everyone to fall back to another position and begin to build another wall as best as they could with the supplies they had left in case this one failed. She had them remove all their cars, including Regina's who had thankfully left her keys in it, back behind the new wall they were building.

It was only after she was sure everyone was back that she yelled to Regina.

"Ok, we're ready, you can drop the barrier and get back over here," she shouted out.

There was no response.

"Regina!" she yelled out again. Again nothing. She began to carefully climb the wall when the poof of magic appeared and so did Regina, who fell to her knees immediately. Emma jumped down and hurried over to her, giving her a steadying hand as she got back to her feet.

"I will have someone drive you back to your place. You need to rest," Emma said, noting if she thought Regina was tired before she was doubly so now.

"I am fine. There is too much to do for the mayor to be taking a nap."

"Regina," she said softly. "You need rest."

"As do you sheriff but we have a town to save and that has to come first," she said. "I will be fine."

Emma didn't believe that she would be fine but she also knew there was no sense in trying to reason with her.

"Just promise me that you will take 5-10 minutes to get off of your feet and maybe eat something."

She thought Regina gave her an odd look before agreeing to do so. By the time Regina was leaving in her car Emma was once again focused on getting a wall built.

It was dark by the time Emma finally got the chance to take a break. They had gotten the second wall built, although the first one held in all but one spot but even then it was not as if it let in raging flood waters. She had been surprised when she had texted her mother earlier to find out where she should go – her place was in the flooded area – and her mother had told her to come to Regina's.

She was even more surprised when she got there to find not only were her parents there, but also Tink, Granny and Ruby and six dwarves – Emma wasn't sure which one was not there. Granny's was not in the flooded area but it was right behind the second wall so they weren't taken any chances with having anyone stay there.

She was thankful because Granny and Ruby were in the kitchen and immediately handed her a plate of food when she came in. She knew Granny had been cooking food for the people at the shelter all day so she felt kind of bad that she still had to cook for people like her.

Ruby had been out all day with firefighters helping them rescue people who hadn't gotten out of their homes in time and were trapped. When Snow took over organizing places for people to stay Tink took her place in helping out with the children by keeping them entertained and hopefully calm.

"Hey kid," Emma said to Henry. "Is there enough room here for everyone?"

"Not everyone will have a bed," he said.

"We will make it work though," Snow said.

"How?"

"The dwarves are going to stay down here. They have moved most of the furniture out of the sitting room and into another room so they could put their bed rolls down there. Henry of course has his room. Your father, Neal and I are in one guest bedroom and Granny and Ruby are sharing another one. Tink has the smallest of the bedrooms upstairs," Snow explained.

"Dare I ask where I am sleeping?"

"In Regina's room."

"What?" Emma said, as she was fairly certain she heard her mother wrong.

"I originally had you in the small room but Tink needed a place to stay. I asked Regina what to do and she said to give you her room."

"And where is she staying? Where is she anyway?"

"The last I spoke to her she was at City Hall organizing the rotation for tomorrow. I asked her where she planned to sleep since she was giving up her room to you and she said she would sleep there."

Emma shook her head, "I don't suppose she has taken a break today?"

Everyone was pretty much silent.

"Grace heard some people talking and they said she had been using her magic to hold back the water so work could get done," Henry said proudly.

"Yes, we wouldn't have gotten the wall built in time if it weren't for your mom," Emma said.

"It wasn't just your wall," David said. He had been helping one of the other crews.

"She shouldn't be at City Hall. We didn't shelter people there because it was too close to the waters. She made that decision so she should know better than to stay there," Emma said. "She probably hasn't eaten either."

"I can go bring her something," Ruby offered.

"No, just get me a to-go plate, I will do it," Emma said. She mumbled "stubborn" under her breath as she continued to eat her food.

….

Regina listened to the last of the reports from the various teams that were manning the walls overnight. The water continued to rise but not as fast as it had been. She could only hope this meant it was over, but she knew it wasn't.

While no rain was in the forecast for the rest of the night, that meant very little at this point.

Even when the waters receded there would be a lot of work to do. She had sent a team led by Robin out of town earlier that day to bring back supplies. They would be gone several days and she made sure they had enough money to pay for what they would need here. Most of the coast was in the same shape as Storybrooke so they would have to travel inland for a while in order to get to a place that would have supplies for them to purchase.

It was yet another instance where she had to use her magic that day. It had been a while since she had used that much magic in a relatively small time frame. She could still feel the magic humming under her skin and she shuddered a little knowing how it easy it would be to fall back into a pattern of relying on it

She knew that couldn't happen, not if she wanted to maintain being her own person. She had come to the realization that she wasn't the best version of herself when she gave into the magic and for Henry's sake, if not her own, she would fight to never be that person again.

The overnight crews would be relieved at 6 a.m. and she had arranged for breakfast to be served at that time at the elementary school, which was next to the middle school.

At first light she too would go around to all the walls and personally assess them.

They would also need to attempt a head count to make sure there weren't people missing. She would put Snow in charge of that if she was willing. She imagined where ever people were placed at tonight would remain the same until they could return to their own homes.

She thought about her own home packed with people. She knew Snow had given the dwarves leave to stay there and move her stuff so she was in no hurry to see what had been done. She hadn't gotten to see Henry except for a few minutes that day and hoped he was ok. She would need to take some time tomorrow to make sure he was.

She rubbed her temples hoping her headache didn't get any worse. She knew it was caused by overextending her energy today and not doing anything to recharge it.

She was sitting behind her desk, making notes about next steps – where to put flood damaged items once the waters were gone, clean up protocols, damage assessment, etc., when Emma walked in.

The sheriff walked up to her desk and put down a plate before taking a seat across from her. Regina examined the plastic covered plate, which she recognized as one of her own.

"Thank you," she said, pulling the plate in front of her and unwrapping it.

"Well apparently when you promised to take 5 to 10 minutes for a break and get something to eat, you didn't actually keep your promise," Emma said.

"I never specified when I would do those things so I am fulfilling it now," she said taking her first bite. She recognized Granny's hand in this. No one else knew how to make mashed potatoes quite like her. Emma must have rushed it over here as it was still warm for which she was grateful.

Emma was quiet while Regina ate, which began to unnerve her a little being under the sheriff's gaze. "You should be sleeping," Regina said to her.

"As should you."

Regina didn't respond, merely continued to eat. She normally wouldn't eat quite as fast as she was, but she got the feeling Emma planned on staying there until she was done.

She was relieved when Emma stood and walked over to the map where Regina had marked off where the walls were built and included water measurements.

"You know this building it marked off in the area you declared as too dangerous for people to remain in," Emma said.

"I am aware. As you should also be aware that if anything were to happen here I am uniquely qualified to keep myself safe by virtue of my magic."

"If I recall in one of your magic lessons to me you said magic isn't infinite. You can't merely do what you want with it all the time without it taking a toll. I know you didn't just use it to hold back the waters at the wall I was working on. You've been all over town today using it," Emma said. "You have to be exhausted."

"I am fine. See, I ate some food, my body will recharge," Regina said. "Now sheriff I really do think you should be getting to your assigned bed and getting some rest. Tomorrow promises to be just as busy as today."

"I didn't come here to bring you dinner, I came here to bring you home," Emma said. "You need rest as much as I do, maybe even more so."

"I appreciate your concern, but I will be fine here."

"Really?" Emma said, looking around. "I don't see any cot here, or any blankets or even a pillow. Where exactly were you planning on sleeping at – on top of the desk?"

"Again, I have my magic," Regina said, standing with the intention of using her magic to at least transport a pillow there to satisfy Emma. As she stood though a wave of dizziness hit her and the next thing she knew Emma was helping her back down onto her chair.

"Ok, why don't you rest for a few moments and then we will get into my car and I am taking you home and putting you to bed."

Under other circumstances Regina may have found that sentence funny. She was about to protest again but her brain felt like it was pushing against the inside of her skull. "Perhaps you are right," she conceded.

….

Emma couldn't believe she actually got Regina into her car without more of a fight. The mayor was clearly too tired if she couldn't even put up a good resistance. When she pulled up to the mansion, the porch light was on but nothing else was. She figured everyone had a long day and decided to go to bed. This could cause issues getting Regina inside and she didn't think the former queen would care very much for people like the dwarves seeing her in less than perfect shape.

As Regina too got out of the car she seemed to understand the problem at hand.

"I will teleport us up to my room," she said.

"No you won't. No more magic for you today," Emma said. "I will do it."

Regina's skepticism was plainly written on her face.

"What, I know some stuff," Emma said.

"Go ahead then Miss Swan, wow me,"

Emma didn't appreciate the tone, but she used her frustration over it to fuel her magic to come to life and she grabbed Regina's arm and they disappeared – reappearing in Regina's bedroom. Emma gave her a big smile.

"You can thank me later," Regina said.

"For what?"

"That comment I made down there, it made you angry didn't it?" Regina smiled. "I keep telling you magic is about emotion."

"I literally hate you right now," Emma said.

Regina just smiled. "And where will you be bedding down tonight – in with your parents?" Regina asked as she made her way to her dresser to get clothes to change into.

"Um … no, I am staying in here," Emma said.

This brought Regina whirling around. "Excuse me?"

"Your house is full," Emma said. "This is it, right here."

"But …"

"Would you relax, it's a queen size bed," Emma said, resisting the urge to point out that naturally Regina would have a queen size. "And I don't snore."

"I don't think it is appropriate for us to share a bed."

"Appropriate. Regina there are people sleeping on cots in a school gymnasium, I don't think two adults sleeping in the same bed is that inappropriate given the circumstances. You're tired, I'm tired. Let's just make the best of it."

"Fine," Regina said. "But you so much as cross the center line of that bed and you will be sleeping on the floor, assuming I don't transport you outside to sleep on the porch."

"The porch might be preferable," Emma said under her breath.

"What?"

"I said you should get changed for bed."

The two women each used the bathroom at separate times to change. Emma's bag which she had packed when she left her place had been brought up to the room earlier. Regina was the first in bed, lying with her back to Emma, who got in the bed and stayed as close to her edge as possible.

"Good night," she said turning off the bedside light.

Regina didn't answer.

…

Emma's alarm on her phone began to go off and she was too comfortable to move, in fact she couldn't move as there was a weight on her right arm. For some reason her mind told her that the weight didn't matter because she was comfy and she was. She breathed in deep as she started to come more awake even as the alarm continued to go off.

"What is …" she heard a voice say and then her eyes shot open only to see Regina who was extricating herself with some difficulty not just from the bed, but from being tangled up with Emma. That weight on her arm had been Regina and she realized she had been holding the brunette against her. She too quickly got out of bed.

"Miss Swan how dare you."

"How dare I what? You were lying next to me," Emma said feeling the need to defend any nocturnal actions.

"You had your arm around me."

"And you were snuggled up against me," Emma shot back.

"On my side of the bed."

Emma looked and she realized that yes she must have crossed over there at some point during the night.

"Would you turn that blasted alarm off!"

Emma turned off the phone alarm. It was just after 5 a.m.

"Look, I am sorry, I didn't realize …"

"Never mind. We will never speak of this again. To anyone, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Emma said, although she failed to see what the big deal was exactly. Regina stormed off to the bathroom and she heard the shower turn on a moment later. Emma sat back down on the bed. Holy shit, she thought, she had just woken up with Regina, cuddling with Regina. How the hell does that happen, she wondered.

She wasn't much of cuddler to begin with and she usually slept soundly and didn't move around a lot. But she couldn't deny that it had felt really comfortable.

….

It was another busy day for Regina and she welcomed it because every time she paused she thought about waking up that morning. She had heard the alarm and her mind had registered that she should probably get up, but she didn't want to. She felt warm and so comfortable that she didn't want to get out of bed.

That was until she opened her eyes and discovered she was curled up with none other than Emma Swan.

She knew sharing a bed with the sheriff was going to be a bad idea. She needed to take some time today to make sure there were other arrangements made for where the sheriff would be sleeping.

….

As tiring as the day before was, Emma was just as tired today. More of the wall had been breeched by mid afternoon and so they had to build up more protections behind the second wall. Regina had used her magic to transport the sandbags that had been part of the breech back to the second wall. Some were not useable and some just lay where they were transported to because of how heavy they now were. But the extra layer did help fortify that second wall.

Again Emma could see the strain it was putting on the mayor.

There was no sign of the water receding and there was another storm forecast for the next day. Emma was happy that people had put aside all differences and were working together. Half of the town was without power – and those that had generators gave them up to help power other places like as a back up at the hospital and the shelter. Everyone was doing their part and it seemed like Regina was every where.

She showed why she should be mayor – not because she magically created this town, but because she was smart, and was an obvious leader who made strong, tough decisions on the fly. She hoped other people could see it as clearly as she did.

It nearing dark when Emma got a call from Ruby. It seemed that Snow had been going around documenting people all day trying to determine if people were missing. She hadn't completed it but there was a concern already for one family that lived in the flooded area. Ruby had been out in a boat with the firefighters to go to their house but found it empty.

They had alerted Regina to the possibility that they had a missing family of four out there somewhere. Ruby was letting Emma know that Regina took her place in one of the boats and had them take her back out to that area as she was going to use her magic to see if she could detect anything.

"Where at?" Emma asked.

Ruby gave her directions.

"Can you meet me there with a boat?"

"Yes but why? Regina has it in hand."

"I have magic too and I want to help," she said. She didn't want to tell Ruby the real reason which was that she was unsure Regina could sustain the amount of magic she was using. And she also didn't want anything happening to Henry's mother for his sake, her mind added.

…

Boats weren't really Emma's thing, despite her time dating Hook, it wasn't something she ever got used to. She wondered if that was part of the reason it didn't work out between them, although she knew it went deeper than that.

She shook the thought of Killian from her mind and concentrated on the task ahead. They were nearing the site of the house but she didn't see any sign of the boat that Regina was in.

"Radio them," Emma said.

She heard Ruby on the radio and the reply – they had found the family two blocks over and were going to need their boat to help transport. There were sighs of relief until Emma heard the next part through the crackling radio. "The family was trapped up in the attic, the mayor went in to transport the family out with her magic to the boat."

"Hurry," Emma said even as they were speeding in that direction.

When they arrived Emma saw Regina standing precariously on a broken out window. She saw the poof of magic and a young child was now in his mother's arm in the rescue boat. Regina saw Emma's boat and waved them forward. Emma could see how it just wasn't four people. There were four people in the original boat and someone else was standing behind Regina.

"How many?" she yelled up.

"Five more," one of the firefighters said.

There was another poof and another person – a teenager appeared in the original boat. They were now full up and moved out of the way for Emma's boat.

"Let me get up there and help," Emma said.

"Not enough time, the water here is still rising," Regina yelled down.

Emma could see she was right but she still didn't think Regina needed to be expending this kind of magic. She transported two people this time into Emma's boat and Ruby immediately gave them emergency blankets to wrap themselves in. Emma could see Regina was holding onto the frame of the window with a death grip and a determined look on her face.

The next two were transported in, leaving one spot left for Regina. Emma looked up again and she yelled "Regina!" as she saw the brunette lose her grip on the window and plummet down into the water. Emma tried to dive in after her but one of the firefighters grabbed her to prevent her from going in. A few seconds later Regina came gasping up through the surface and another firefighter pulled her into the boat. She was coughing as some of the water got into her mouth and from Emma's perch she could see Regina was already shivering from the cold water as Ruby wrapped a blanket around her.

They got back to shore and Regina began giving additional orders to get the people to the hospital to get checked out and then getting them food and dry clothes. No one questioned her authority even as her hair was dripping water into her face and she held the blanket around her body.

Someone handed Regina her phone which she had wisely left behind and Emma could see she was checking her messages.

Emma felt her anger rising – anger that Regina would risk something like this happening when she had been using magic all day long. She should have left it to the firefighters or at least called Emma so Emma could do it. Emma had shown she was capable of transporting people, even if she didn't feel secure doing it with more than one person at a time. Once Regina was done, Emma marched over and grabbed her arm.

"Sheriff Swan!"

"Don't sheriff me," Emma said and a moment later they were standing in Regina's room. "You take a warm shower and get out of those wet clothes. When I come back up here with some food you better be in that bed or so help me I will lock you in a jail cell."

She said it through clinched teeth, her anger still roiling through her as she left the room.

….

Regina stood there a moment after Emma left trying to figure out what brought that outburst on. Emma had spoken to her in anger and had used that anger to transport them but she couldn't figure out why she was angry.

She considered following the young woman out and demanding an explanation, but as another shiver ran through her body she thought a hot shower might be best.

…

"Stupid, stubborn woman," Emma said as she entered the kitchen.

"Excuse me?" Granny said.

"Sorry, not you," Emma said. "Do you have something ready to eat?"

"Yes just about. I thought you were out with Ruby, where is she?"

"She will be here soon," Emma said as she was pacing trying to fend off her anger. She could hear the dwarves talking rather loudly from one of the other rooms and it was nagging at her already spent patience.

"So if I am not the stupid, stubborn woman who is?"

"Regina," Emma said. She went on to explain Regina's reckless actions.

"So she saved nine people and you are upset because of it?"

"Yes, no. I mean there were other options and she should have considered that," Emma said.

"Maybe she should have but we are all running on fumes at this point with more rain expected tomorrow. Everyone's nerves are a little shot. What you and Regina both need is a good night's rest. Where did you sleep at last night anyway?"

"Um in Regina's room."

"With Regina?" Granny asked.

"No, I mean yes, but I was on the floor she was on the bed."

"Oh, must have been uncomfortable on the floor since there were no spare blankets or pillows for you to use."

"Um, yeah it was alright."

She waited while Granny finished making her beef stew and then she ladled two bowls full and put them on a tray for Emma to carry upstairs.

"Just leave the tray outside the door when you and Regina are done. Like I said it would be best if our sheriff and our mayor got a good night's sleep. I will take care of telling your parents you went to bed early."

"Thanks," Emma said.

When she returned to the room she was surprised that Regina was actually sitting up in bed.

"Granny's stew," Emma said. She put her own bowl down on the bedside table and handed the tray to Regina to use. She then took a seat on the bed and the two women ate in complete silence. It wasn't until after Emma took the tray and the empty bowls and sat them outside that one of them spoke. Emma explained Granny was going to pick up the dishes and this wasn't an attempt by Emma to be lazy or dirty up the place by not taking them downstairs.

Regina thanked her for bringing up the food but said nothing else. Emma went and took her own shower and changed clothes and found Regina was pacing the floor talking on her phone. Emma gave her a disapproving look, and even crossed her arms in front of while she locked eyes with her.

"Go out even further then. We need those supplies. Just get whatever you can," Regina said to the person. "I have to go, another matter has come up." She hung up. "What is wrong now sheriff or should I ask what is wrong that prompted you to manhandle me earlier?"

"You didn't lose your grip up there on the window, you got dizzy again didn't you?"

"Is that what this about?"

"Yes, this is about you out playing Supergirl when clearly there is kryptonite around."

"Forgive me sheriff but I am more of a Marvel reader, not D.C., so maybe you could explain that comment."

"You can't be running around town all day using magic and then turn around and do something like that."

"I don't see why not. What would have happened to those two families if I had not?"

"I don't know, but there were other options. You don't have to do it all by yourself. What if something had happened to you out there? What about Henry?"

"Nothing happened. I got dizzy yes, I fell, but besides taking a dip in cold water I am fine and more importantly those people are fine. I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done yourself. Is that what your problem is, that it was me out there saving people and not you?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Emma shot back. "This isn't some competition. Maybe in all your haste to be everywhere and do everything you have failed to notice that the people of this town are relying on you Madame Mayor. They need you so when you do something like what you did today, you aren't just risking yourself you are risking the whole town getting through this."

Regina was surprised by Emma's words and she didn't immediately react. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "I have used my magic for so much evil, if I have to expend every bit of it to save this town, I will. I have to. I don't care if the magic burns out of me completely if it means this town and its citizens are safe."

"That is all well and noble but what happens when the next thing happens and your magic is gone, then what?"

Regina didn't answer.

"My point is, you are not alone in all of this. None of us all. We are all working together and you have to let us work with you. Now tomorrow promises to be another day from hell so I suggest we both get our sleep and when tomorrow comes, if magic is needed you better be calling me up. I will be there at your side and we will use our magic together. Do I make myself clear?"

Regina shook her head no.

"What is wrong with you?" Emma said. "My magic is just as powerful as yours if not more. You've said so yourself."

"Yes I have, but you are unskilled with it. You wield it when it's needed and ignore it all other times. You either have magic, or you let magic have you. I've lived it both ways, and believe me having magic and knowing how to control it is the better way to live. Now if you insist on using your magic to help out, fine, but I won't have this be a one-time thing. You either commit to learning how to use it after this disaster is over, or you can continue about your business tomorrow and let me take care of mine. Do I make myself clear?"

"Deal, I will learn magic once and for all."

"Fine."

Regina turned and got into bed. "And Miss Swan, stay on your side of the bed tonight."

Emma wanted to tell Regina not to snuggle up against her then, but she bit her tongue and got into bed.

…

The alarm again woke both ladies, and comically they both rushed from their respective sides of the bed staring at each other.

"Miss Swan," Regina growled.

"What? You were on my side of the bed," Emma said pointing at where they had been soundly sleeping up until the alarm went off. They had woken in the spoon position, Emma holding onto Regina tightly.

Regina seemed at a loss for words. "Well, it's my bed," she said. "And turn off that damn alarm."

She turned and went into the bathroom.

Emma shut off the alarm again amazed that she had woken up now two days in a row in a rather compromising position with Regina – and she had never felt more comfortable, of that she was sure.

The rain and the use of magic was taking its toll on Regina. She had spent the day again using her magic to hold off water while walls were rebuilt. The second wall had too been breeched by late afternoon. True to her word though, she called Emma when magic was needed and Emma came each time. She showed her how to use magic to create a barrier and they took turns doing it while others worked.

She managed to even take a break at lunch time – going to the school to have lunch with Henry. Word had spread about her part in the rescue of the two families and she couldn't help but beam with pride when Henry recounted the story he had heard to the people they were sitting with. After all those years of having people look at her with fear and hatred, it felt nice to see appreciation on their faces.

She thought about Emma's words the night before about the town needing her, relying on her even. Of course as soon as the thought popped into her head she thought about waking up in Emma's arms again that morning. It was true, she had been the one to cross over the line that night and end up on Emma's side. That was curious to her as she had never unconsciously done that with anyone she had shared a bed with – at least not that she could remember. Not even with Robin.

By the end of the day she was again exhausted but hopeful as the weather forecast was not calling for rain over the next few days.

When it was night time she returned to the house where everyone was having dinner and she sat with them and not even finding it strange that there were all these people there in her house having a meal together. She caught Emma looking at her once during the meal but she quickly averted her eyes.

They all retired to their sleeping spaces and neither woman said anything as they got ready for bed. Once they were in though, Regina suggested they could use magic to erect a barrier between them to avoid any uncomfortable situations.

Emma shot down the idea, rightly so, as it would expend magical energy all night which really wasn't conducive to sleeping.

They turned off the lights leaving it to chance.

When morning rolled around they were both in the middle of the bed. They were facing each other as they slept, Regina snuggled in closely with Emma's arm over her. This time Emma woke before the alarm and she didn't move –instead she lay there watching Regina sleep peacefully.

She looks beautiful when she is asleep, Emma thought, and then she wondered where exactly that thought had come from. She didn't get the chance to explore it further as the alarm went off startling her and bringing Regina's eyes opened at her.

Neither woman moved at first – just lying there staring at each other through the beeping of the alarm.

Emma moved first, removing her arm from on top of Regina and rolling over to shut off her phone. By the time she rolled back over Regina was getting out of bed. Neither said a word about it.

….

Two more days past of sunny weather and while there was plenty of work to be done it wasn't the harried pace of the days that preceded it. Finally the first signs of the water receding came and there was a collective cheer when at the shelter when it was announced.

Emma watched Regina from a distance as people began talking about how fast the water would recede and getting back into their homes. Emma had continued to share a bed with the mayor and it appeared they had come to a mutual agreement of not talking about how they kept waking up each morning wrapped around each other in one way or another. There was always this moment of tension that came with waking and the realization that it had happened once again. The only saving grace for Emma was that it apparently wasn't only her. That morning she had woken with Regina holding onto her.

She had turned off the alarm and turned toward Regina who moved her arm – they locked eyes together and Emma had the overwhelming urge to press her lips to Regina's. She had even licked her lips in preparation of it but Regina quickly moved. She hoped she hadn't made her uncomfortable but since they weren't speaking of it to each other Emma had no way of knowing.

That night they were again silent. Emma was lying in bed when Regina went into that bathroom to answer a call. Emma could hear a part of the conversation. Robin's team had been held up trying to find enough supplies and had to go further inland than expected, but now they should return the next day. She heard the relief in Regina's voice. They weren't desperate yet for supplies so the timing was perfect.

Regina returned to bed and said a quick good night before turning off her bedside light. Emma did the same and settled into bed, but sleep was a long time coming for her. It wasn't that she wasn't tired, she was, but she couldn't get her mind to settle down enough for her to sleep. She kept thinking of Regina lying there beside her.

She was awake for a long time and she knew Regina was asleep as she could tell from the way she was breathing. She knew what she was risking as she cautiously moved over to Regina's side of the bed. She knew she was crossing a line – consciously this time – but she didn't care, as she molded her body around Regina's and held on to her. As she breathed in the scent of her hair her mind began to shut down and sleep claimed her.

…

Regina woke first this time and felt Emma's body pressed up to hers. She felt the strong arm wrapped around her and she didn't move. She allowed herself to lay there feeling a comfort she couldn't explain. She realized she didn't want to explore why that was, she just wanted to feel this feeling for a little while at least.

The sound of the alarm came too quickly and acted as if she had just woken as Emma moved off of her to turn of the alarm. Regina was about to get up but Emma touched her shoulder.

"Wait," Emma said.

Regina turned over to face the blonde who was now staring intently at her. Regina wasn't sure she could hold up under such an intense gaze. She remembered the day before when they had been in a similar position and Emma had licked her lips. It had scared Regina because just a moment before that she had thought about kissing the other woman.

Now she was thinking about it again. She was about to speak, to tell Emma they both needed to get up and get moving when Emma moved forward. It seemed slow to Regina even though it wasn't and then Emma's lips were kissing hers. She didn't react at first but then she was kissing her back, feeling those soft lips pressing and pulling hers.

The pace increased quickly and Regina felt Emma's hand on her hip. The move drew Regina's mind back to what was actually happening and she pulled away.

"We can't," was all she said before disappearing into the bathroom.

….

Emma had made herself scarce that morning after Regina had fled into the bathroom. She threw on some clothes and went downstairs where she had a piece of toast before leaving the house. Her mind was in complete turmoil. She had kissed Regina Mills. She had kissed Henry's other mother. And Regina freaking Mills had kissed her back and it had felt wonderful.

Then those fateful words came "We can't."

She tried to keep busy all morning, but her mind kept slipping back to that kiss and those words.

She avoided seeing Regina and Regina never called her for any assistance. It was about 3 p.m. when she heard the honking of horns and she made her way up to the middle school where three large trucks pulled in loaded with supplies. There was a cheer from those who had come out to see it and there was Regina.

Emma watched as Robin got out of the lead truck and came over and hugged Regina. By the time Robin gave Regina a kiss, Emma was walking away.

She walked all the way to the station, cursing herself for being a fool to kiss Regina in the first place. She knew that Robin and Regina were trying to work things out between them. She knew this yet she had kissed Regina. And Regina kissed you back, her mind added.

"Damn it," she said out loud to the empty station.

She didn't understand what Regina saw in him anyway. He may be hot shit with bow and arrow, but Emma bet she could out shoot him with her gun. He wasn't really anything other than a thief now that she thought about it. Stealing from the rich and all that. Now he thinks he can just what swoop in with a truck of supplies and play hero when she was the one who had been here at Regina's side battling the flood waters.

She stopped her internal rant and took a seat behind her desk.

"Oh my God," she said coming to a realization. "I am jealous of Robin Hood."

 **A/N: If you haven't guessed it, this story leads into my day 2 story for the SQ Week**


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